What's Eric Eating Episode 170

Behind the scenes at Houston's most opulent Indian restaurant, plus a Japanese sandwich sensation

On this week's episode of "What's Eric Eating," Mithu and Shammi Malik join CultureMap food editor Eric Sandler to discuss Musaafer, the Indian fine dining restaurant they opened in the Galleria. Despite making its debut in the middle of the pandemic, Musaafer has earned raves from diners both for its elaborate design and its elegant, authentic cuisine.

The conversation begins with the couple explaining how they evolved their business from importing Blue Bunny ice cream to Lagos, Nigeria to create the Spice Route Company — a hospitality company with multiple concepts that range from pizza and burgers to fine dining restaurants. Houston's ties to the oil-rich city led them to launch their first American concept in the Bayou City.

Rather than focus on one style of Indian cuisine, Musaafer blends familiar dishes like samosas and lamb chops with a few that are specific to micro-regions of the Indian subcontinent. As Shammi Malik explains, the restaurant has an almost infinite number of potential menu items to showcase.

Yes, there is a staple menu for most restaurants all over the world. We do have most of them in some form or another. But with the desserts we've done and the way we're changing our menu every season, if you give us this chance to keep on changing, we've got in our bank of recipes a whole year's worth. We won't repeat a dish. The credit doesn't go to us. It goes to our country. It's so vast. We're so excited to showcase it to the world.

Prior to the interview, Sandler and co-host Matt Harris discuss the news of the week. Their topics include a discussion of the changes currently underway at the Houston Farmers Market; the closure of Firehouse Saloon, and two of the new cloud kitchens that have opened recently.

In the restaurant of the week segment, they discuss Sandoitchi, the Dallas-based Japanese sando pop-up that's currently operating in Houston. Does the Instagram sensation live up to the hype?

---

Subscribe to "What's Eric Eating" on Apple podcasts, Google Play, or Spotify. Listen to it Saturday at 1 pm on ESPN 97.5.

Mithu and Shammi Malik are this week's guests.

Courtesy of Musaafer

Mithu and Shammi Malik are this week's guests.

news-you-can-eat podcasts

Farewell, ElRo

Creative Montrose pizzeria will shutter after only a year-and-a-half

Photo by Julie Soefer

ElRo Pizza & Crudo

An acclaimed Houston pizzeria will soon serve its final pies. ElRo Pizza & Crudo will close after service on December 31.

In a post on Instagram, chef-owner Terrence Gallivan thanks his staff for their dedication and his customers for their support. “We hope to see you all over the next couple weeks. Come celebrate with us,” he writes.

Open since June 2023, ElRo intrigued diners who enjoyed Gallivan’s work at pioneering Houston restaurant The Pass & Provisions. At ElRo, the chef served a modified version of the Provisions pizza recipe alongside crudos and shareable small plates such as arancini and housemade sausage. It earned four nominations in this year’s CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, including Best New Restaurant and Chef of the Year.

Sadly, Gallivan tells CultureMap that business has seen “a steady decline in business for many months.” Recently, the restaurant had tried a number of initiatives to draw in diners, such as steak night on Tuesday and fried chicken on Saturday.

The early announcement gives diners two weeks to make one more visit (or two) to the restaurant before it closes. Customers may want to time their visit for happy hour, which takes places from 3-6 pm Tuesday-Friday. It includes half-off glasses of wine, $4 draft beers, $9 select cocktails, and food specials.

Gallivan adds that he doesn’t know yet what his next move will be. Hopefully, he’s got one more comeback in him. Houston is a more fun town to dine in when Gallivan is cooking in it.

news-you-can-eat pizza closings